Robert Milligan McLane

Robert Milligan McLane (1858)

Robert Milligan McLane (born June 23, 1815 in Wilmington , Delaware , † April 16, 1898 in Paris ) was an American politician . He was a member of the US House of Representatives , Governor of the State of Maryland and US Ambassador to China , Mexico and France .

Early years and political advancement

Robert McLane's father, Louis McLane, was the American Ambassador to Great Britain from 1829 to 1831 and then Treasury and Foreign Secretary of the United States under President Andrew Jackson . Robert McLane attended St. Mary's College in Baltimore and Bourbon College in Paris. Between 1833 and 1837 he graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point .

After graduating from West Point, he served in the Army until 1843. During this time he was involved in the Seminole Wars. Since 1838 he was one of the army river pioneers. In this capacity he studied the dike systems there in Holland and Italy . After the end of his military service, Robert McLane studied law. After being admitted to the bar in 1843, he began working in his new profession in Baltimore. He was a member of the Democratic Party and was elected to the Maryland House of Representatives in 1845 . Between March 4, 1847 and March 3, 1851 he represented his state in the US House of Representatives in Washington, DC There he was chairman of the trade committee from 1849 to 1851. In 1856 and 1876 he was a delegate to the Democratic National Conventions ; from 1852 to 1856 he was also the Democratic National Committee .

Ambassador to China and Mexico

In 1853, President Franklin Pierce appointed him American envoy to China. In addition to China, his area of ​​responsibility also included Japan , Siam and Korea . Despite a civil war in China, he managed to establish good trade relations between the USA and this state. In 1854 he resigned from this office for health reasons. McLane was ambassador to Mexico between March 7, 1859 and December 22, 1860. It was a difficult mission because diplomatic relations with Mexico had been severed only a year earlier because of the Mexican civil war. The civil war in this country between the supporters of Benito Juárez and the French-backed Emperor Maximilian continued during McLane's time as ambassador.

Further political career

McLane did not take an active part in the Civil War. During this time he worked as a lawyer and consultant for a railway company. His political break lasted until 1876 when he attended the Democratic Federal Party Congress as a delegate. In 1877 he was elected to the Maryland Senate. Between 1879 and 1883 he was again a member of the US House of Representatives. There he became chairman of the Committee on Pacific Railroads .

Governor of Maryland and Ambassador to France

In 1883, Robert McLane was elected Governor of Maryland. He served from January 9, 1884 to March 27, 1885. During this period, new labor laws relating to women and child labor were passed. At that time, a state office for statistics and information and a mining school were also established. In addition, the legal basis for dental care was created. After McLane had been appointed new ambassador to France by President Grover Cleveland , he resigned as governor on March 27, 1885. Between 1885 and 1889 he represented the American government in Paris. Even after his official activities as ambassador ended, he stayed in the French capital. Since 1891, his health there deteriorated more and more. He died in April 1898. He had two children with his wife Georgine Urquhart.

Web links

• Robert McLane in the National Governors Association (English)
• Robert Milligan McLane in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (English)
• Robert Milligan McLane in the database of Find a Grave (English)